Fight or Flight

Finished April 30

Fight or Flight by Samantha Young

This novel focuses on Ava Breevort, who, as the book opens, is flying back home to Chicago from the funeral of a childhood friend in her hometown near Phoenix. The visit didn't go well for many reasons from her parents to her former friends. She's in line to upgrade her seat to first class when a large man pushes his way in front of her and takes the last upgrade. When the eruption of a distant volcano in Iceland cancels the flight entirely, she is at least able to get a first class seat on a different connecting flight. 

The man causing the annoyance is Scotsman Caleb Scott, a large man who looks intimidating, but doesn't intimidate Ava. For her the annoyance lingers, even when he intervenes for her from a harassing situation in the hotel restaurant in their connecting city. This leads to acknowledgement of a physical attraction between them that they act on. Ava had forgotten that she would see him again on the next day's flight, where the annoyance continues.

Back home, Ava is comforted by her best friend, an up-and-coming pastry chef, and by the demands of her busy interior design job. The firm she works for is in high demand, and she has a very demanding client at present. But one of her favourite clients ends up bringing Caleb back into her life and the two decided to pursue a temporary physical relationship while he's in town for business. Their relationship is intense and kept secret from most others in their life. But as his time in town gets extended and they spend more time together, we begin to learn about their past traumas that have led both of them to have issues around trust.

The writing is great and the characters come to life here. I particularly liked her young friend the chef. A very enjoyable read. 

Survive the Night

Finished April 5

Survive the Night by Riley Sager

This psychological suspense story was a great read, with twists and turns along the way. The specific time setting isn't stated, but it is set before cell phones are around. The main character is Charlie Jordan, who is named after a character in a movie. She goes to college in New Jersey, but is from Ohio. Her eccentric, charismatic roommate Maddie was the third victim of the campus killer, a serial killer as yes uncaught. The killer kidnapped and killed the young female victims, and took a tooth for a souvenir. The last piece of information hasn't been made public. 

The night Maddie was killed she pressured Charlie into going out to a bar, and Charlie was not enjoying the night at all. She finally told Maddie that she'd had enough and wanted to go home, but Maddie wasn't ready to go. Charlie actually saw the back of a man talking to Maddie when she looked back, not realizing that he was the killer. Charlie feels extremely guilty for leaving Maddie, and Maddie's family blames her as well. She's been struggling with life since the murder. 

She's finally decided to go home, and goes to put up a post on the Rideshare board at the college, but meets Josh Baxter who is just posting that he is looking for someone to share the trip to Akron with. He's a graduate student. Charlie is a little nervous about the whole thing, given the recent murders and not knowing Josh, but she so wants to get away that she brushes any concerns aside.

On the drive, she begins to notice discrepancies in Josh's story, and becomes suspicious.

Add to this Charlie's love of thriller movies. She's watched them all her life, first with her parents, and later, after their deaths in a car accident, with her grandmother who is a huge fan. Charlie has, at time, had episodes where she kind of zones out and lives a scene in her head. She always has realized that this happens to her as soon as her episode is over, but now she wonders whether things she has seen are real, or one of these "movies" that plays in her head. She doesn't trust her own observations anymore, and isn't sure what is real and what isn't. But she keeps telling herself all she has to do is survive the night.

Before she left campus she had jokingly set up a code phrase with her boyfriend in case something happens, and as a result of her actually using this phrase, he gets drawn into the action as well.

I thoroughly enjoyed the book, the character Charlie is, the character Maddie was, and the well developed plot. 

To Have and To Hoax

Finished February 15

To Have and To Hoax by Martha Waters

This Regency romance is the first in a series called The Regency Vows. I've read others in the series and enjoyed them: To Marry and To Meddle (#3) and To Swoon and to Spar (#4). The series is set around a group of young upperclass adults in Regency England, many titled. 

Here, we have Lady Violet Grey, who married Lord James Audley five years earlier, and we see how they met and came to marry in the early part of this novel. Their first year together was passionate and tumultuous as they fought and made up multiple times, but when a secret about how they met is exposed, the fight became a rupture, and the two have not been intimate since. 

One of the issues was a gift that James' father made to him upon his marriage of a country estate that is also a centre for horse breeding. James was determined to make a success of it, and he claimed it was for Violet, but she worried constantly about the risks he took riding untrained horses and about the time he spent on paperwork. She sees that he is trying to prove to his father that he runs the estate better than his father did. 

Now, she is having tea with two of her good friends when she gets an urgent message from one of her husband's friends (a man who is also the brother of one of her friends) telling her that James has fallen from a horse and is unconscious and possibly badly injured. Violet immediately takes action, taking her carriage out to the estate, but she meets her husband, much recovered, and his friends on their way back to London and is infuriated that she wasn't sent an updated message. 

James hadn't realized that a message had been sent, and his friend had forgotten, but the damage is done, and Violet is determined to get revenge. She decides to fake an illness, but she must find someone willing to act as a doctor to back her up, and things start to get very messy. 

Violet and James have a mutual attraction that has not gone away, and both have remained loyal to each other despite their emotional distancing. As each realizes what the other knows about Violet's plan, they do interact more and fight more, but the also notice the attraction. Instead of talking to each other about the reasons for their estrangement, they each take further action, until talking becomes very necessary. 

A fun read. 

You Belong with Me

Finished December 24

You Belong with Me by Mhairi McFarlane

This romance novel has a romance that we've come into at a critical moment and it deals with some interesting issues around communication, trust, and what happens when one of the pair is a celebrity. Edie is a woman who is good at her publicity job, but not as confident in her personal life. She tried to talk herself out of a relationship with famous actor Elliot Owen, but he shows up on her doorstep determined to make a relationship with her work. 

Edie had a recent experience where someone took advantage of her nature and compromised her, with Edie getting unfairly blamed for the situation. Since it involved co-workers, it spilled into issues at work, specifically bullying and mean girl attitudes. Her boss knew the truth and allowed her leeway to work from home, and recognizes her leadership potential. When she's assigned an employee from head office to report to her as a new satellite location manager, she's wary of what he's been told by her work bullies.

Edie also learns to deal with Elliot's agent and how she should deal with the publicity that news of her relationship will bring. Another interesting thing to deal with is his relationships with other cast, particularly those cast as significant others in an ongoing series. 

As Edie and Elliot learn more about each other and work out the new seriousness of their relationship, dealing with information leaks, crushes, and new opportunities puts strain on their long distance relationship.

A romance with a lot going on and some real issues at the heart of it. 

The Mistletoe Mystery

Finished November 19

The Mistletoe Mystery by Nita Prose

This novella is part of the Molly the Maid series, but the first book I've read in the series. As indicated by the title, the story takes place in December, and Molly has always loved the holidays. Molly has insecurities that come to light here. She doesn't feel attractive enough for her boyfriend Juan Manuel, a kitchen worker who is employed at the same hotel as her. She's also had bad experiences in the past with secret Santa exchanges, particularly with one other staff member who reports to her. 

Molly is also celebrating her first Christmas with Juan and when he seems secretive, she immediately worries about their relationship. 

This is a novel that makes reference to a beloved holiday story, The Gift of the Magi by O.Henry, and that brings in feelings around trust and friendship. A short, feel-good holiday tale. 

Twice in a Blue Moon

Finished October 18

Twice in a Blue Moon by Christina Lauren

This book is told in two short time periods fourteen years apart, in chronological order. When Tate Jones is eighteen, her grandmother takes her to London for a much anticipated trip. Her grandmother and mother run a cafe in a small California town. Her grandmother has planned their days out, cramming in as much as she can from museums and galleries to plays. 

On their first day, they meet Sam and Luther, a grandson-grandfather pair from Vermont, who are also on a much anticipated visit. Sam is a little older than Tate, at twenty-one. The four get along well, and do some things together, but Sam and Tate connect more strongly, and after once unplanned meeting in the hotel's courtyard late in the evening, Tate is sneaking out after her grandmother falls asleep to meet Sam. They lie in the grass, look at the stars, and share personal information. Some of Tate's sharing includes things very few people know about her, but she is sure that she can trust Sam with her dreams and sorrows. Sam lets her know that he is worried about Luther's health, and about his grandmother Roberta, who doesn't enjoy air travel, and who stayed home. 

The connection ends abruptly when Sam and Luther leave without goodbyes. The next day, Tate is swarmed by media as she exits the hotel for the day, and her grandmother quickly calls in assistance. With the media knowing things that she's told Sam, including her father's identity as a Hollywood film star, Tate is both sad and mad at the betrayal. 

Fourteen years later, Tate is now an actor herself, and has signed on to a movie where her father also appears in a supporting role. When Sam appears on set, she is shocked, and doesn't know how to react. She needs to talk to him, but she finds her emotions confusing. The tension is already high as Tate and her father haven't had much of a relationship over the years, despite what the media has been told. 

The story is all told from Tate's viewpoint, and while I could relate to the ease of falling in love as a susceptible young woman in her situation, the adult Tate is more controlled and less relatable. The story also lacks the humorous banter that usually appears in Christina Lauren romances, and has a more serious feel to it.

It was an enjoyable read, but not one of this author pair's best. 

Plot Twist

Finished April 23

Plot Twist by Erin La Rosa

Romance author Sophie Lyon had a hit with her debut novel, but the deadline is fast approaching for her second novel, she's spent most of her advance and she's coming up against a writer's block. She thinks maybe it's because she's never actually been in love, and she's decided to try and figure out why. That entails meeting up with her previous partners and seeing what they think. 

Sophie lives in L.A. and her best friend Poppy Montrose is from a well-known Hollywood family. Poppy's father and both brothers are actors, and her mom is a publicist. Poppy though has gone a different direction and owns a popular luxury spa. Sophie lives in a small home behind the large house of Dash Montrose, the younger of Poppy's brothers, so Dash is her landlord. Sophie had a crush on him as a teenager, and now that he's in her life more, some of those feelings are coming back. 

As Sophie meets up with her former boyfriends and girlfriend, she learns a bit more about herself and why those relationships ended. She also finds that she has trust issues, and that becomes a plot point here. 

Dash is another voice in the novel. He's not had an acting job in a while, and that's partly by choice. He's got a personal issue that he's overcoming, with some help. He also has found an interest that may be a way forward for him, and that's kind of interesting too. 

This is the second book in a series, but I haven't yet read the previous one. Sophie is a likeable woman, who's got a strong sense of self outside of her love life. Dash's struggles feel realistic here too. 

I found the use of Instagram as a story device kind of interesting. 

A fun read with some serious issues brought in. 

Mrs. Nash's Ashes

Finished January 11

Mrs. Nash's Ashes by Sarah Adler

This is a road trip novel, and a romance novel, with a fair bit of personal growth for both main characters. Millie Watts-Cohen is headed from her home in Washington, D.C. to Key West, Florida on a mission. She carries with her a small container of ashes set on bringing them to a specific person. But this mission is also one that is driven by several things: her friendship with Mrs. Nash across generations; Mrs. Nash's own story of loss and regret; and Millie's past relationships. One of Millie's barriers to love is her childhood acting career, which has brought her lasting fame, and a driving need to control her online presence. 

After meeting a man, Hollis, at the airport after an unpleasant interaction with a "fan," and recognizing him as someone she's met before, a technology glitch causes flights to be cancelled and a race among passengers to other forms of transportation. 

Millie ends up travelling with Hollis, on a journey fraught with setbacks. They disagree about many aspects of the journey, but also find themselves confiding some of their closest secrets with each other. 

With the interesting historical component of Mrs. Nash's story, this novel looks at issues of acceptance and identity across the generations.

Both characters have trauma around previous relationships that has led to trust issues, and this is a key element of their story. 

I had trouble putting this novel down, and ending up reading way past my usual time into the wee hours to see how it developed. Thoroughly engaging. 

What She Knew

Finished January 5
What She Knew by Gilly MacMillan

This suspense novel is a parent's nightmare. Rachel Jenner is walking with her son Ben and his puppy on the wood trails near their home, when he asks if he can run ahead to the playground area. It's not far, and she's been trying to support the 8-year-old in different ways after the breakdown of her marriage, so she agrees. But when she gets to the playground, neither he nor the dog are there. She calls and backtracks and panics and finds help in the parking lot with another parent she knows and people immediately start a search as she contacts the police and then her ex-husband. But Ben isn't found. 

The book is told from three perspectives. One is Rachel's, one if the policeman put in charge of the case, and one is from a psychologist working with the young policeman on his issues following the case. 

Rachel is supported by her older sister, who drops everything to come help, and by a friend who works in journalism (although not news-focused). She also comes together in a new way with her ex-husband, a pediatric surgeon, and his new wife. As she goes over her steps on that day and in the last few months, following her divorce, she also must deal with the guilt of being the one that let him stretch his wings when this terrible thing happened. 

There are also outside judgements that influence the situation. A blog insinuating Rachel's guilt and more starts up, and every aspect of her life and behaviour is questioned, even some that she wasn't aware of before. This situations makes her question who she can trust.

For Jim, the police officer, a year after the case, he is a good cop with a lot of issues. He feels guilt for not resolving the case quickly and positively, for missing subtle clues he feels he should have caught, for following leads that turned out to be dead ends, for the actions of other police he trusted. Jim has insomnia and it and the feelings he has are affecting his work, to the extent that he is compelled to see the psychologist and talk about what is going on with him, something he is resistant to do. 

The psychologist's notes from their meetings with Jim are the third point of view. They contain not only the transcript of the meetings, but also observations on Jim's attitude and nonverbal behaviours. 

This book is a tense read, as we bounce back and forth between Jim's story, his issues a year later, and Rachel's anguish as she waits for word about her son, desperately trying to help in whatever way she can.

We see how our lives can distract us from the current moment, how easy it is for people to judge those they don't know, how trust can be broken so easily and gained with much difficulty. how our views of those around us don't always show us the whole picture. An engrossing read. 

Cocoa Beach

Finished June 13
Cocoa Beach by Beatriz Williams, read by Eva Kaminsky and Alex Wyndham

This story moves back and forth in time between events during and just after World War I in France and England, and three years later in Florida.
Virginia Fortescue has left her father and sister in New York City to volunteer in France during the War. She has a few reasons for leaving, although she does worry about her younger sister. She has used the mechanical skills her father ensured that she had to become an ambulance driver and mechanic. During her duties, she meets an English doctor, Simon Fitzwilliam, a few years older than her, and is drawn to him. He is in a complicated personal situation, but works to gain her love and trust. Virginia hasn't told him all her secrets, but she does feel safe with him.
Three years later Virginia has come to Florida with her young daughter following notification from Simon's brother that Simon has died in a house fire. Virginia left Simon shortly after their marriage, under circumstances we gradually learn, and has never let him know about their daughter. His voice is given in letters that he writes to her. Again, Virginia has a secret no one knows. She has a letter from him dated after his reported death, and so believes that he is still alive. She searches for an answer to her questions about Simon and his motivations, relying on his siblings for information. But is she trusting the wrong people?
This is a story of secrets, of worry and of trust. In a time of Prohibition, Simon has become involved in illegal alcohol provision, much like the smuggling of his Cornish ancestors. Has this activity become his downfall?
There are several interesting characters here, from Simon and Virginia to the black woman who manages the estate and citrus orchards that Simon inherited. Simon's brother is a bit of an enigma. We know he resents Simon and has all his life, but does that mean that he would actually do Simon harm. The cliffhanger ending leads me to expect another book with some of the same characters.